1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to transmitting sound waves for entertainment via toothbrushes, and more particularly to apparatus and methods that modulate transmitted sound energy through a user's teeth and bone structure to the user's ears, e.g., proportional to brushing pressure.
2. Description of the Related Art
Mechanisms for transmitting sound to the ears that bypasses the air and external ears has been recently understood in the general denta-mandibular art. Through such mechanisms, sound waves are transmitted directly to the inner ears, without traveling through the air, by conduction through an object to bones in the user's head, from which the sound waves travel through the bones to the ears to be perceived as sound.
A particularly efficient way to incorporate this mechanism is through a process termed denta-mandibular conduction. Denta-mandibular conduction involves transmitting sound waves through the user's teeth and bones to the inner ear where it is perceived as sound. Because teeth are connected directly to bones in the head, they provide an advantageous non-airborne sound conduit to the ears.
Devices based on denta-mandibular sound transmitted are disclosed in several U.S. patents. As discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,902,167, herein incorporated by reference, an edible substance and a signal source are operatively associated and configured to produce sound waves for transmission through the edible substance to a user's mouth, from which sound waves are conducted by the user's teeth and bone structure to the user's ears to be perceived as sound. As further disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,115,477, herein incorporated by reference, the sound-transmitting device may embody pacifiers, teething rings, pipes, cigarette holders, candy dispensers, toothbrushes, and toys.
It is not believed that a denta-mandibular device has used a method to boost or modulate the transmitted sound wave energy proportional to certain parameters such as the pressure applied to the user's teeth or the like. It would be desirable to incorporate this method into a toothbrush as to adjust the sound waves to facilitate good brushing technique. The invention described herein addresses this deficiency of the prior art.